Conduit for high-potential conductors.



S. D. SPRONG & W. E. MOODY. GONDUIT PoR HIGH POTENTIAL GONDUCTORS. APPLICATION FILED 0GT.16,1911.

Patented N0v.5,1912.

UNITED sTATEs rATENT oEEIoE.

sEvEnN n. ysPaoNa AND WALTER E. yMcoo'Y, oF NEW YORK, N. Y., AssreNoEs 0E oNE- THIRD To FRANK W. SMITH, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

ooNDUrT Eon HIGH-POTENTIAL coNDUcTons.

Specication of `Letters Patent.

Applicationy led October 16, 1911. Serial No. 654,906.

To all whom it may concer/n:

Be it known that we, SEVERN D. SPRONG and WALTER E. MoCoY, citizens of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Conduits for High-Potential Conductors,of which the following is a specification.

In the art of transmitting power by electricity, thedemand-is to cover increasingly reater distances. Thisn turn has madey ing to employ square lattice work steel tow- Aline of trees or branches,v due to yseverev ersfspaced from 400 to 600 feet apart, and of sufficient strength to carry usuallyi two 3-phase power circuitsvand one overhead lightning protection cable. `The cost vof an overhead line of this "description, ywithout real .estate or right-of-way-which Vis purely a 'llocal matter-@averages $5,500 to $6,000 a m1 e. I 'l l y y Therev are certain hazards to an' overhead line that* cannot-be avoided by any excel-y lence of construction of the line itself; such as, malicious mischiefin throwing `wires over-the line, damaging insulators'byrv shooting,l and the occasional blowing across the storms.- l. .M

The art'loff'cable manufacture does not make possible the use of underground con-` ductors ywith commercial voltages above in bringing: `the transmitted power into cities'for general distribution. As the trans- 'miasionl potentials cannot be carried overmote outlylng point in the suburbs. From here, powerat lowervoltage may be carried either overhead or underground to centers of distribution within the city, but,`in either case, the much lower potential at which the power iscar'ried, and the relatively greater distances between the outside stationfand the points of distribution, necessitate relatively great investment in cable and carrying structures, whether overhead or underground. y,

Our present invention provides lfor placing lthe `high voltage system entirely underground, both for the main transmission line and the extension into a city to the proper points `for. distribution, and consists in the Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

construction 'hereinafter more particularly l described."

In the accompanying drawings-Figure l isla longitudinalv vertical section of aportion of ourimproved yconduit forxhigh potential electric conductors. Fig. 2 is a plan view `Withthe top portion of the wall broken away. Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line a, 'ofFig. 2; Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line b, b of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is across vsection onthe lint-)0,0 of Fig. 2. The sectionsl are taken in they direction of the arrow in Fig. 2.

Similarv numbers of reference indicate like f j parts.

` i' The conduit l1| is tubular 'and may be made of metal.' 'The high" potential conductors 2,' 3, 4, which yare led through the conduit, are

preferably tubularA and ofcopper, andk are disposed 120 apart. Within the conduit,

andjpreferably ldisposed at uniform inter# .vals apart, are insulating 'supports 5, 6, 7,

for said conductors. ySaid supports are prefsulating material, and are approximately erably made of porcelain, or other fictile ini crescent-shaped, the outer circumferential"k edge being 'struclron the same radius asthe n '95 snuglytherein and preferably -cover a little A more than half of the inner circumference of the conduit'. In thelbody of each support is anvopenlngv 8, and surrounding said openinner perlphery ofthe conduit, so as to fit in and on opposite sides of the support are tu ularsleeves 9,v 10. As shown yin Fig; vl, i'

the line'conductor 3 fits inthe opening Sof the support, and there is a clearance 12 between said conductor and the tubular pro'- jections 9,10.

lVithin the conduit 1 and between the successive supportsv 5, 6, 7, are inserted tubes 11, preferably of fiber or other insulating material. These, besides insulating the in-l terior surface of the conduit, form spacing pieces between the supports, sol that when said tubes are made in equal lengths, .the supports will be equidistantly spaced from one another. The tubes are pressed in tightly at their ends against the supportsl so as to prevent rotation of said supports within the conduit. vAs one line conductor passes through the opening 8 in a support, it follows that the remaining conductors in the conduit pass through the space 13 between the support and conduit.. Thus in Fig. 3 the conductor 3 passes through the opening 8, and the conductors 2, 4, through the space 13. In Fig. 4, the conductorv 2 passes through the opening 8, and the conductors, 4, through the space 13.' In Fig.

`5, the conductor 4 passes through the`open.

ing 8, and the conductors 2, 3, through the space 18. And in the three cases noted, thev supports are suitably turned in the conduit to accommodate themY to the positions of the several conductors. It is to be observed that the supports 5, 6, 7 do not form transverse-partitions completely closing the con'- duit, butY only partly close the same, the spaces 13 being always open. After the parts described are adjusted in place, the

conduit is filled with a dielectric, which is introduced in a liquid or plastic state. Such a dielectric is oil, or we may use a dielectric such as'pitch, which'may be run in liquid and allowed to harden. l

It is to be observed that by this construction we obtain individually insulated conductors, no one of which is in contact withv end lining piece is .inserted ina given sec# tion, the line conductors are drawn through.

The partition .for conductor '1, say, is` ut over that conductor until it meets the en of the lining piece; then the next lining piece is inserted. The partition becomes clamped at its edge between the two lining pieces and so prevented from rotating. The partition for conductor 2' is then put over that conductor and meets the end of the second lining piece, and so on for conductor 3, if the section happens to be long enough to take three partitions.

We claim:

1. Means for the transmission of high potential currents, comprising a tubular conduit, aliquid dielectric therein, a plurality of line conductors immersed in said dielectric, and a plurality of separated bodies of insulating material, each of said bodies supporting one only of s'aid conductors, and each body having an opening permitting free circulation ,of liquid dielectric through said conduit.

2. Means for the transmission of high potential currents, comprising a tubular conduit, a liquid dielectric therein, a plurality of line conductors immersed in said dielectric, a plurality of series of transverse partitions, each series inclosing and supporting one only of said line conductors, and each partition having an opening permitting free circulation of said dielectric through said conduit, and means for preventing rotation of said partitions.

3. Means for the transmission of high potential' currents, comprising av tubular conduit, a liquid ldielectric therein, a plurality of line conductors immersed in said dielectric, and a plurality of series of transverse partitions, each series inclosin and supporting one only of said line con uctors, and each partition having an opening permitting free circulation of said dielectric through said conduit.

4. Means for the transmission of high potential currents, comprising a tubular conduit, a' liquid dielectric therein,a plurality of line conductors immersed in said dielectric, a plurality of series of partitions of insulating material, each series supporting oneo said conductors only, each partition having a sleeve receiving said 'conductor and formed with a clearance around said conextremity of said sleeve, an each partition duit.

5. Means for the transmission of high po-V tential currents, comprising a tubular conduit, a liquid dielectric therein, a line coilductor immersed in said dielectric, a trans- Vverse partition ofinsulating material inclosing and supporting said line conductor and vhaving an .opening permitting free circulation of said dielectric through said conwithin saidl conduit and in contact with opposite sides of said partition.

tential currents, comprising a tubular' con` duit, a liquid dielectric therein, a plurality duit, and .lining tubes of insulating .material ductor extending from said artition to the l having an opening permitting free circulation of said dielectric through said'con-A 115 i' 6. Means for' the transmission of high po-A I of line conductors immersed in said dielectric, a. plurality of series of partitions of insulating material, each series supporting one of said conductors only, and each partition having an opening ermitting free circulation of said dielectric through said conduit, and linin tubes of insulatln material within sai conduit interpose between successive partitions and clampingy In testimony whereof we have ax'ed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.'

SEVERN D. SPRONG. WALTER E. MGCOY.v

- Witnesses:

GERTRUDE T. PORTER, MAY T. MCGABRY. 

